This Week in Geekdom

Happy Sunday everyone and belated holiday wishes to those of you who celebrated Thanksgiving on Thursday. If this was a long weekend for you, hopefully it has been filled with gaming and nomnoms and goodness. It's been a pretty awesome, if already busy, kickoff to The Holiday Season and we're hoping to get in at least a little rest before the mistletoe mania gets cranked up to eleven. In that spirit, let's get down to the Week in Geekdom.

Movies/TV

We are were weeks away from the release of Episode VII and we now know both the names of some of the new planets that will be appearing in the film as well as its rating

Science/Technology

Einstein's Theory of General Relativity as narrated by David Tennant


Begun the privately-funded space wars have.

2016 is already shaping up to be an amazing year for autonomous cars. Prepare yourself for Formula E: an all-electric autonomous racing circuit.

It may or may not, however, be a comparably excellent year for Apple. The technology mega-giant has announced that it will be making a massive change to its headphones that may not go over well with the consuming public.

For a mere $5 USD you can have the one of the smallest computers made to date.

The science behind the magic of aging spirits in wooden barrels.

China will be constructing its own super-massive particle collider. If the project is completed per the released specifications, it will be the largest collider in the world.

General Awesomeness

Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield and XKCD creator/former NASA physicist Randall Monroe have a little chat with one another and it is incredible that the universe was not immediately unmade given that raw quantity of awesome.

As always, best wishes for an excellent week ahead!
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This Week in Geekdom

Hey guys; hope you're all having a great weekend thus far. We've been busy gearing up for Thanksgiving (lots grinding away in the office, but the premise of pie looms large in the immediate future). Mmmmm, pie. With a bit of vacation time incoming, I'm hoping to put in some serious hours in Fallout 4 and start putting together the 2016 cosplay lineup. In the meantime though, let's get down to the Week in Geekdom.

Comics

Happy 30th birthday to Calvin and Hobbes!

Games

On Friday Valve announced the dates for both its Fall and Winter Sales as well as a planned makeover for both daily and flash sales. <girds wallet>

Fans of the Starfox series may have to wait until 1Q16 to do their next barrel roll, but we can at least get a glimpse of what's inbound.

Are you the owner of a PS4 with a jones for solid indie titles? This list can point you in the right gaming direction.

Despite the prevalence and potential functionality of the bluntly direct "just attack your target" methodology inherent in so many games, there's a lot that can be said of taking a stealthy tack. Here are some of the best examples of the latter.

Movies/TV

It's Mark Hamill's first official interview about some movie that's coming out next month or something.

Speaking of said franchise, if you could change one thing about any of the Star Wars movies what would it be?

Science/Technology

It's a healthy baby...planet? The latest edition of Nature contains these observations from the Universities of Arizona and Sydney that may be the first-ever images of a planet being 'born'.

LG did not have the best of weeks. After only six days on the market the Watch Urbane (Second Edition) was cancelled due to an unspecified hardware issue.

In a less market-value-crushing move, Microsoft ended both the production of its music player Zune and the service that provided said player with tunes.

What if your cell phone could hold a battery charge for over a week at a time? Thanks to new research at the University of Glasgow, we may be very close to that possibility.

In what is likely another step towards the Singularity, AI developed by the National Institute of Informatics (Japan) was able to pass the infamously difficult exam associated with admission into Japan's universities.

It's one of the most enduring and analyzed quandaries that we, as a species, grapple with: why do we exist? According to one Harvard cosmologist, the answer may be dark matter.

We all share this ability, but why? We're are uncannily adept at sensing when another human is looking at us. Here comes the science.

The most recent version of Optics includes this research out of Stanford that details a microscope calibrating technique that allows individual molecules to be observed in real time and in three dimensions.

General Awesomeness/Feats of Nerdery

Do you love model-making? Are you a Star Wars fan? Do you have two or so years to dedicate to a single project? If you answered yes to all of those then this soon-to-be-released model kit may be the perfect holiday gift for you.

Pffft. Who wants a scaled down model of a Star Wars craft when you can sit in a full-sized version?

Ever wonder who is behind Albert Einstein's Twitter/Facebook/Instagram accounts? Meet Anthony Illiokostas.

As always, best wishes for an excellent week ahead!
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This Week in Geekdom

Happy weekend everyone! Hope you're all staying fed and hydrated among all the video game releases of this past week. If you're just now taking a break from your questing, here's the lowdown on the Week in Geekdom.

Books

The World Fantasy award trophy will no longer feature the likeness of H.P. Lovecraft.

Gaming

Extra Life may have been last weekend, but the charitable gaming continues! Watch here for the live stream of Desert Bus for Hope!

On Thursday fans of The Binding of Issac found that the latest bit of DLC for their beloved game was also the jump off point for an insane ARG. If you missed out on all the gaming goodness, PC Gamer covered the entire thing.

Nintendo announced its release schedule for the first and second quarter of 2016. Among the new titles was the introduction of Linkle, who will feature in Hyrule Warriors Legends on the 3DS.

Image Credit
It has long been the stuff of myth, but the Nintendo Playstation is entirely real (and fully functional!).

Movies/TV

The Walking Dead will have its Negan and he will be portrayed by Mr. Jeffrey Dean Morgan.

Science/Technology

It seems contradictory, but the latest research from a joint venture between China's ASIPP and the United States' General Atomics revealed that lowering the distance between pre-fusion plasma and the walls of the chamber said matter is confined in actually increasing the stability of the potential energy-producing system.

What do you do when you accidentally launch two satellites into the wrong orbit? Why, you use them to test the predictions made by the Theory of Relativity, of course.
Canadian neurosurgeon Dr. Todd Mainprize has done what modern medicine has attempted to do for decades: penetrated the blood-brain barrier.

Computer scientist Laszlo Babai has allegedly developed an algorithm that allows the user to determine if two networks are the same, regardless of their respective complexity.

In the latest installation of What Can't 3D Printing Do is this art installation that features a printed ear derived from the DNA of Vincent Van Gogh. Extra eyebrow-raising is the fact that the ear can 'listen' to sound waves emitted into it.

The latest edition of Nature Communications contains this research from the Imperial College London that may introduce the world to a brand new, super efficient type of laser.

Poor Phobos. Mars' oft-overlooked moon is being slowly dismantled by its celestial anchor.

On the subject of gravitational dismantling, have you ever wondered if it's possible to see the supermassive black hole at the center of our galaxy? Here's how you could.

General Awesomeness/Feats of Nerdery

It's just a tad more luxurious than Vault 111. Welcome to the Oppidum, the world's largest 'billionaire bunker' for all your apocalypse-surviving needs.

Speaking of things that might be fun to own if you have all the monies, the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is being converted into luxury condos.

It took Ian Martin the better part of a year to complete, but he successfully crafted this fully functional holochess board from Star Wars.

And while we're talking about Star Wars superfans, here's the handiwork of one California dad who constructed a replica Death Star on the roof of his own house.

As always, best wishes for an excellent week ahead!
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This Week in Geekdom

Happy weekend everyone and sweet dreams to everyone who's finishing Extra Life 2015. This year's gaming marathon has raised nearly $6.4 million USD and counting! So many kudos to everyone who participated this year, now go get some much-deserved rest. And rest is definitely needed, as this upcoming week is chock-full of much-anticipated releases. For those of you still conscious, let's get down to the week in geekdom.

Comics

Did Snoopy ruin the Peanuts?

Games

Need a little post-apocalyptic pick-me-up to get you through to the release of Fallout 4? You got it.



Movies/TV


We're approaching the t-minus one month mark in the countdown to Episode VII. If a month is still too much to bear, Den of Geek has put together this massive compilation of all the posters, trailers, and assorted images that have been released to the public.


Peter Capaldi is NOT happy about the way that the current incarnation of Doctor Who has played out on the BBC.

In happier BBC news, the network has greenlit an 8-part series based on Phillip Pullman's His Dark Materials.

Oh hi there World of Warcraft trailer


Science/Technology

A team of researchers comprised of participants from UC San Francisco, the University of Michigan, and Washington University at St. Louis have identified a compound that, when applied as an eye drop, may clear up cataracts in humans. Their findings can be found in the latest edition of Science

That same edition of Science also contains this research from the University of Toronto that may upend everything we thought we knew about how blood is made and maintained in the human body.

There are myriad examples in film and, increasingly, in real life wherein humans show more than a bit of disdain for AI programmed to be 'friendly' or otherwise helpful. As this sort of technology becomes more integrated into our lives, how will our behavior impact the way we relate to other humans?

NASA's JPL and the University of Texas at Austin have been working together to use satellites in order to observe patterns in the Earth's ocean currents. What they've found so far does not bode well in terms of the potential impacts of climate change.

This past Wednesday marked the exact centennial of Albert Einstein's historic, gravity-redefining lectures at the Prussian Academy of Sciences. Here's the story of how none of this would likely have come to pass were it not for the school of thought/obsession with a fictional planet. 

How is it that supermassive black holes are capable of of flaring? Thanks to NASA's Explorer mission Swift and the Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array, we may be closer than ever to answering that question.

Image credit: NASA
Here is the brief, spirally history of the Strypi-type rocket. 

We've been following the development of a potential EM drive as best we can and, allegedly, there have been a few new details released into the interwebs concerning this physics-defying device.

Happy 15th birthday to the International Space Station!

If you think the Hubble is the be-all and end-all of telescopic prowess in the universe, check out what gravity itself is capable of.

General Awesomeness/Feats of Nerdery

These two 17-year-olds, communicating only through Facebook and Gchat, may have just paved the way for interstellar travel.

As always, best wishes for an excellent week ahead!
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GiR by GIR: Warhammer End Times - Vermintide

With over 350 hours played on Steam, Left4Dead2 constantly reminds me that, while I may be an RPG gamer at heart, it was this co-op FPS that became one of my greatest gaming loves. It's the game that I could never give up, that is until I got my hands on the recently released Warhammer End Times - Vermintide by Fatshark.


The End Times is the great cataclysmic apocalypse that was prophesied to bring about the end of the Warhammer Fantasy setting. Vermintide focuses on the city of Ubersreik which is being overrun by a horde of Rat-Men called Skaven. A group of five unlikely heroes must work together to try and save the city and, barring that, at least survive long enough to escape.  


Over the course of 13 different missions four players will battle their way through several richly detailed environments ranging from a Mage Tower built by MC Escher to the docks and sewers of the city to the surrounding countryside. Most missions follow the formula L4D soundly established: move along a mostly linear path until you get to a set piece where you have to hold out against waves or enemies, or collect something to deliver before you can advance further while being ambushed by hordes of adversaries. Sadly, the storyline itself isn't quite as detailed as the maps it pulls the players though. That said, the narrative is certainly serviceable, but doesn't quite seem to tap the full potential of Warhammer Fantasy lore.  
     
Being a Co-Op Action FPS, the core mechanics are the standard focus on melee and ranged weapons (with a light emphasis on the former) while battling hordes of basic enemies occasionally bolstered by special units. Unlike each of the survivors in L4D, in Vermintide each of the five playable hero classes has a unique skill, gear set, and specific roles they are best suited for. While other co-op games have you finding gear and loot throughout the levels and missions, Vermintide has a loot reward, inventory, and crafting system that allows you to tailor your chosen hero to best fit your play style.  

Everyone has a primary and secondary weapon slot as well as space for trinkets they can customize before you set out on a mission. For example, the Empire Soldier Markus or Bardin the Dwarf Ranger can use a one-hander plus a shield to get higher endurance which allows them to block melee damage or shove enemies away, giving them more durability. The Mage has a variety of staves that will change how her magic works, causing her flames to act like a beam, area explosion, or a javelin she can hurl.  The Elf Waywatcher has bow that can do poison damage over time or fire homing arrows.    

While this diversity in gear and loot is great for flexibility in terms of play style, it’s also a double edged sword (no pun intended). The reason behind this is that the only way to get much of this gear is the somewhat controversial loot system. At the end of each successful mission players get to “roll” a set of dice that will determine the reward you get from a list of options displayed to the right of the screen. The quality of loot available depends on the difficulty level of the mission, but there’s no guarantee the player will get something good if they roll poorly and, even if they do, it might not even be for the heroes they prefer to play. Ostensibly, the loot system was configured as a tactic to try and get people to try out all of the heroes instead of sticking to a single roll, but things rarely work out that way. I still have nothing but normal (white) gear for the class I wanted to play most, the Witch Hunter, but, as a Level 30 running hard, I am forced to play the role I have the best gear for or risk dragging down my allies. 


You can slightly improve the odds of better rewards by collecting hidden items called tomes or grimoires, both of which take up a healing item or buff slot so there’s a neat risk/reward aspect in play. The grimoires, in addition to taking up a potion slot, also reduce the entire teams Max Health and can’t be dropped or they are lost for the mission. Tomes, on the other hand, can be picked up and put down at will. This can be helpful, but not every mission even has them which leads to a somewhat lopsided server list in terms of what’s being hosted. I definitely enjoyed this mechanic, as it incentivizes players to work together and discuss if it’s worth doing none, one, or both grimoires based on map difficulty and current party health. That said, I do play with friends who communicate well. In public games with strangers people’s personal experiences may vary.     

To try and alleviate some of the grind, Vermintide has a crafting system that allows players to recycle useless or duplicate gear into a better quality item. The conversion rates in said system are 5 Whites = 1 Green, 5 green = 1 Blue, 5 Blue = 1 Orange. Despite this, the item crafted can still be bad so, like the dice, you're at the mercy of a random number generator. Even more frustrating are the trinkets and hats which can't be crafted or recycled for parts and, after playing long enough, you'll could end up with a heap of worthless clutter in your inventory.

Combat itself is good and engaging and, overall, the game is fairly challenging. The weapons really do feel responsive in that a one-handed mace will swing really fast compared to a hulking two-handed hammer; blades swish nicely as they cleave Skaven limbs from bodies, and shields thump under heavy Skaven assault. I know some people feel that the AI is no better than zombies of other games. but I strongly disagree. Full stealth is never an option but taking down a group of Skaven in a watchtower with a bow can allow a group to sneak past a larger group and save that precious healing for finales and recovering after ambushes. If the players go loud using guns and bombs on that same watch tower they will draw a larger horde, wasting time, healing, and other resources. Even the most basic units know not just to swarm, but to try and flank to get behind players. Also, unlike zombies, the Skaven will recoil in fear when players land critical kills or bring down special units. Sometimes that moment of respite is the difference between regaining enough stamina to block an incoming attack or getting dropped and leaving your allies a hero down as the tide of vermin continues to grow. 

For players familiar with L4D, the parallels in special unit types in Vermintide will be obvious and likely easily dealt with but, for the uninitiated, the challenge of learning how to deal with the tougher Skaven can be difficult but rewarding once a rhythm and pattern of blocking/parrying/counter striking is established. The 5 Specials are: Packmasters, which will latch on and drag players away from the group; Ratling Gunners, who lock onto a single player and unleash metal hell using a gatling gun; Poison Wind Globadir who hurl long range gas bombs which cloud vision and damage over time; Gutter Runners who teleport and pounce on players, eviscerating them; Rat Ogres that are basically like the Hulk and require the whole team to bring down; and Stormvermin, which are larger, heavily armored rats with heavy weapons. The last type is also unique in that patrols of about a dozen roam around on various maps and, again, players can use stealth to avoid these which on lower difficulties isn’t always necessary, but at higher level play is mandatory as even the best geared players will quickly be facing a TPK (Total Party Kill).
   

While the influence of L4D hangs heavy around Vermintide like the fog around Ubersreik, I don’t think that’s a bad thing. Frantically fighting off hordes of enemies back-to-back with your friends as you wait for a gate to lower so you can escape a doomed city is the whole point right? Desperately trying to revive a downed ally while a Rat Ogre roars bearing down on you full speed will never stop being thrilling to me. It’s been 6 years since L4D and there has been no worthy successor. I’m here to say I now feel there is and it’s Vermintide. This is, hands down, the best FPS co-op experience a player can get today.  

Warhammer: End Times – Vermintide released on 10/23/15 and is available on Steam for $29.99.  Pick it up today and let’s save Ubersreik together, or die trying.
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Gias Games: Bernband [Free & Indie]


Have you ever had the urge to explore an alien city, walk down its alleyways, mingle with its crowds, and discover its night-life?  If so, you are about to be very happy.

Bernband is an ambulatory city exploration simulator created by Tom. It's free to download over on Gamejolt. Though the game was released in September 2014, I only became aware of it recently and decided to give it a shot; I'm very happy that I decided to do so.

The city you explore is known as "The Pff". Imagine you woke up in the Star Wars galaxy on Nar Shadaa, the Smuggler's Moon, Little Coruscant (Disney, make this happen dammit). You're in a sprawling alien city, neon lights and bars everywhere you go. But despite the night life attractions
this is still a city where people live. You find schools, music recitals, dance recitals, churches, convenience stores, restaurants, greenhouses, and, of course, bars. You'll also find bums down on there luck and drunk people urinating in dark corners, but that's really to be expected in any major city.  There are no humans to be found and I'm fairly certain you don't play as a human based on the appearance of the hands of your character. However, it does appear that the denizens of the city are aware of Earth since one night club is banging to a rap with English lyrics, there is an art gallery which depicts the denizens' strange fascination with Troll Dolls, and one convenience store owner apparently is a fan of Japanese television.

Graphical fidelity is low, akin to DOS-era graphics but slightly better, so imagine someone smeared Vaseline on your character's eyes.  The sounds of the city are very captivating despite this. You can't understand any of the alien languages or songs, but it's interesting to hear people in crowds talk to one another.  I could be content with just sitting in one of the bars and listening to the alien band jam for a while, or sitting in one of the concerts going on in the city.

The city itself feels like a city except for the lack of more doors and hallways to explore. Given the size of the simulation, it's easy to understand that there could not be infinite branching paths at every junction, but it's a bit disappointing when you consider the possibilities for such a simulation. Imagine if the city was built using a procedural generation akin to games like Noctis (one of my favorite games of all time despite its outdated graphics and terrible controls). Each intersection could have multiple branches and each branch could also have multiple branches ad infinitum.

Unfortunately, Bernband only lets you explore so much of its alien city, but that little taste was
enough to make me very happy. The low fidelity visuals accompanied by properly chosen sound effects did wonders for making the city seem real. The sounds of air cars whooshing below the bridge you're crossing and the murmurs of the crowds make the city feel alive. The thrum of generators and the hum of power flowing through walls make empty areas still feel a part of this living city.

There are a couple of minor issues with the simulation. You must touch the right spot in the middle of an elevator to get it to move.  You slow down while walking if you're touching a wall.  But the biggest oversight in my opinion was that there was no option to run, which meant exploring areas I had already visited took longer than I wanted it to.

Bernband is a simple simulation. There is no HUD, overlay, or options menu while in the simulation,
giving a more realistic feeling to the experience. However, this means that when you hit escape, you're closing the simulation and losing your position in the world, you will need to start from the beginning again. The city isn't massive, it'll take you about 20-30 minutes to visit every location, but you might want to spend a bit more time looking for the secret tunnels which I found very neat; they gave me the feeling of being a denizen of the city and knowing the city's back routes.

As an added layer, I feel that it would be very interesting to play this simulator with another person present and discuss the architectural choices of the alien city, their implications, and the psychological impact they might have on the denizens. But then again, I'm strange.

I highly recommend Bernband. If it had been sold for a couple of dollars I would have found it
worthwhile for the enjoyment I received, but since it is free I am willing to say that this simulation is fantastic for its price. Bernband won't be for everyone, if you need a game with interaction or story, this is not the right choice for you. But if you are interested in experiencing being a tourist on another world or the artistic possibility of indie digital media your should really give this a go.
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GiR by GIR: Jotun

After a brief Q&A with the developers, I felt it was time for a more formal review. Let me begin by stating that Jotun by Thunder Lotus Games is clearly a labor of love. An action-exploration hybrid, Jotun first caught my eye at PAX East and did not disappoint upon release. With a truly wonderful hand drawn art style reminiscent of The Banner Saga, the player is immediately and deeply immersed in a legendary journey through Norse mythology.   


Player’s control Thora, a fierce Viking who’s lost at sea and must prove her strength and courage to the Gods to claim her place in Valhalla. While some may find the pacing to be on the slow side, as Thora traverses gorgeous and varied elemental levels in search of Jotuns to defeat, I couldn’t imagine not taking the time to absorb and appreciate the majestic vistas. Aside from aesthetic reasons, it is definitely worth exploring every inch of a level to find the Norse Deity Shrines to grant Thora boons. For example, Thor's power increases Thora’s heavy-attack damage, Freya grants boosts of speed, Heimdall allows the use of a protective shield, and Frigg provides apples to extend her life bar; all of which players will assuredly need because Jotuns are seriously tough.  

Combat may be generously spaced, but each fight is an epic struggle in the vein of Shadows of the Colossus or Titan Souls. Thora, who is little more than a mosquito to the hulking Jotuns, must memorize an increasingly complex set of boss attack patterns to learn when and how best to capitalize on the few openings that exist. As vast and slow as exploration feels, combat is fast, frantic, and lethal. The environment itself can also often be as dangerous as the Jotun themselves.
 
While I was slightly put off by some of the puzzles I stumbled across during the exploration phases, I realize that is a bit of personal bias; like Thor I prefer to solve my puzzles by hitting them as hard as I can with a hammer until the pieces fit together. Unlike other games where puzzle sections can cause a disconnect and bring a player out of an experience, I can assure you that is not the case here. Like with all other aspects of Jotun, Thunder Lotus has gone to great lengths to forge the very essence of Norse mythology into the puzzles themselves to make sure the immersion and theme remains intact. The best of these moments to me was using lightning to recreate constellations. 

Jotun is a somewhat short game that can wrapped up in about 10 hours, but I felt was an appropriate length. It was just long enough to satisfy me but also keep me wanting more. Thora’s journey was a stoic and difficult, but worthwhile one and I’m glad I had the opportunity to accompany her on it. 
Jotun released last month and is available on Steam for $14.99. If you like 2D artistic games heavy on the atmosphere and a strong Norse theme I strongly recommend checking it out.


Full Disclosure: This review was written based off a review copy for the Steam version of the game provided by Thunder Lotus Games.   
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This Week in Geekdom

November what? Seriously? Sheesh. It's been kind of a hectic week over here at the Care and Feeding of Nerds but, fear not, for there are plenty of posts headed your way in the not-so-distant future. In the meantime, let's get down to the Week in Geekdom.

Games

2015 has not been very good to Nintendo, and the immediate future doesn't seem to contain any respite for the beleaguered game maker. On Thursday Nintendo announced that its first mobile game would be delayed until March of 2016, preventing them from capturing any holiday season sales.

Movies/TV

Heads up Whovians, a very familiar not-so-canine K9 companion will be getting the big screen treatment in 2017.

Jar Jar Binks: possibly the single most loathed character in the Star Wars universe. But what if we've been massively misjudging this Gungan all along?

Science/Technology

How do you go about providing internet service to remote areas? Well, if you're Google, you develop these stratosphere-bound balloons and beam it in.


The latest edition of Nature includes the surprising data collected by the Rosetta spacecraft as it passed the comet 67P. The surprise was the quantity of molecular oxygen present around the comet, as this may indicate that the universe may not have been formed with a Big Bang after all.

On Tuesday the FDA approved the use of a genetically altered herpesvirus for the treatment of the skin cancer melanoma, paving the way for the use of similar virus-based treatments in the future.

It's not often we get a bit of good news on the climate change front, but this new study from NASA indicates that the ice and snow related mass gains on the Antarctic Ice Sheet are actually greater than the sum of the losses sustained on said Sheet due to melting.

Fresh out of the Tokyo Motor Show is this honest-to-goodness transforming car.

Sorry for the short round-up this week guys, but there's more headed your way (I promise!). As always, best wishes for an excellent week ahead!
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